Want A Promotion? Improve These Emotional Intelligence Skills

Did you know that 90% of top performers are leaders with high emotional intelligence (EQ)? Technical skills and advanced degrees do not guarantee career advancement. Organizations want personnel who can lead and motivate teams. Those who can easily collaborate, attain high customer satisfaction, and engage with their teams and customers are most likely to have high EQ.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Psychology Today defines EQ as the ability to identify and manage one’s emotions and those of others, and leadership recognizes it as a vital leadership quality. EQ has become an essential factor distinguishing genuinely effective leaders. TalentSmartEQ reported that leaders with high EQ have better-performing teams.

Enhancing EQ is beneficial and indispensable for managers aiming to become promoted. By using EQ, you lead by example and show your team how to use EQ. Here are seven meaningful ways to use EQ to elevate your leadership effectiveness.

Deepen your self-awareness.

Think about how your emotional responses and behaviors impact your team. Do they avoid you? Do they do the bare minimum? Do they talk low around you or stop talking when you come by? Take 10 minutes each day before work to conduct self-assessments and identify your behavioral patterns. Consider conducting a self-assessment at midday or at the end of the day to determine if you need to change course.

Build your empathy.

Engage with your team members to better understand their points of view. Show sincere curiosity about their experiences, challenges, and personal lives. Don’t ask personally invasive questions. Stay on the topic they want to talk about and refrain from repeating the talk to others.

Improve your active listening skills.

When team members speak, refrain from multi-tasking and listen. Don’t interrupt, set your phone aside and turned over, and maintain eye contact. When it is your turn to speak, paraphrase key points, but don’t repeat words verbatim to confirm your understanding. If you continually repeat back words, you may appear artificial.

Communicate clearly, but compassionately.

Deliver your messages and feedback with clarity and sensitivity. Ask yourself how what you say affects your team members. Watch out for passive-aggressive language as well. Ensure communication remains supportive, constructive, and empathetic while holding team members accountable.

Be open and transparent yet professional.

Show your team members and others that you value accountability, transparency, and integrity. When you make mistakes, own up to them. Don’t make excuses. Embrace vulnerability when appropriate. You create strong, trust-based relationships with your team by following through on your commitments.

Practice open dialogue and psychological safety.

Create a workplace where team members feel secure in expressing ideas, raising concerns, or providing honest feedback so they don’t fear negative consequences. Encourage and celebrate openness, collaboration, and innovation. Don’t make fun of team members’ ideas, but don’t say an idea is great if that’s the opposite of what you feel. Let your team try new ideas and ensure they can come to you if they have problems once they start pursuing their ideas.

Motivate through recognition and appreciation.

Acknowledge your team’s efforts and celebrate their achievements. Praise in public. Reprimand in private. If you can submit a team member or the team for an award, do so. Sincere appreciation and recognition motivate your team and strengthen their loyalty and satisfaction.

By working on your EQ, you will enhance your EQ while at the same time positively transforming your leadership approach and team dynamics. Managers with high EQ inspire confidence, earn respect throughout their organization, and drive their teams toward organizational success, creating a place where people are proud to work and stay with the organization.

When you improve your EQ, you do more than grow personally. It’s about strategically positioning yourself as a highly promotable and influential leader and it can be developed if you lack EQ. You will build a team that genuinely wants to succeed because they know you care about their success, growth, and well-being.